Multi/parallel scanner

ABSTRACT

A microscope system may comprise a plurality of microscope modules, a cassette for holding a plurality of slides, a slide loader configured to move the plurality of slides between the cassette and the plurality of microscope modules, and a processor coupled to the slide loader. The processor may be configured with instructions which, when executed, cause the slide loader to move a slide into or from a selected microscope module among the plurality of microscope modules. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/IL2018/051252, filed Nov. 20, 2018, published as WO 2019/097523, onMay 23, 2019, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/588,630, filed Nov. 20, 2017, entitled,“Multi/Parallel Scanner” the disclosures of which are incorporated, intheir entirety, by this reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to digital microscopy and/orcomputational microscopy and, more specifically, to systems and methodsfor operating and managing multiple microscope modules with a slideloader.

Microscopy is used in several applications and use cases to analyzesamples, such as a hospital, a lab or a clinic. A large volume of slidesmay need to be read at a microscope facility, and the throughput of suchsystems can be less than ideal. Commercial microscopes, such as wholeslide imaging (WSI) devices that are currently available, often comprisea single scanning microscope that relies primarily on accuratemechanical scanning and high-quality objective lenses. An automaticslide loader may be incorporated to automatically insert and removeslides from the scanning system for scanning multiple slides to a singlemicroscope. However, prior slide loaders may only service one microscopein at least some instances, which may be disadvantageous for severalreasons: high cost of hardware, low flexibility to changing needs (suchas a hospital expanding), sensitivity to hardware downtime which maylead to the throughput dropping to zero, difficulty in adjusting todifferent imaging needs, and inefficient workflow as each loader needsto be addressed separately. Computational methods may compensate forsuboptimal components, such as objective lenses and scanning motors, toimprove the resolution of the lenses and accuracy of the motors andpossibly enable lowering costs. However, the throughput may still belimited by the speed in which the single scanning microscope can scan asingle slide, and by the computational time to generate the image. Theprior approaches may less than ideally allocate microscopes andprocessing resources in at least some instances.

To overcome this bottleneck, additional scanning systems may beintroduced to the microscope system. Although multiple microscopes andslide loaders can be used in parallel, adding additional microscopes andslide loaders unduly increases complexity of the microscope system at amicroscope location, such as a hospital. For example, the additionalscanning systems may differ such that some scanning systems may not beappropriate for certain slides, which may have different scan needs.Thus, conventional slide loaders may not be capable of managing severalscanning microscopes and slides in an efficient manner. In addition,conventional slide loaders may not be capable of interfacing with morethan one scanning microscope. This can lead to less than ideal use ofthe scanning microscopes, and can make the prior systems more complexthan would be ideal.

Some facilities such as pathology labs and hospitals may scan severaldifferent types of microscope samples, each with different types ofimaging and urgency. The prior approaches may less than ideallyprioritize the scanning of samples based on the type of sample beingscanned. For example, some samples such as frozen samples, may need tobe read before the sample degrades, while other samples may be less timesensitive. In addition, some samples may be read while a patient is insurgery to determine how to treat the patient surgically, while othersamples may be less time sensitive. Also, some of the prior approacheshave less than ideally addressed the throughput of different types ofmicroscopes, such as computational microscopy and fluorescence.

In light of the above, it would be desirable to have improved methodsand apparatus for increasing microscope slide reading through put atfacility. Ideally, such improved microscope systems would overcome atleast some of the aforementioned limitations of the prior approaches.

SUMMARY

As will be described in greater detail below, the instant disclosuredescribes various systems and methods for managing a plurality ofmicroscope modules with a slide loader. This modular approach toscanning increases scanning throughput, improves the scanning of slides.The use of a plurality of microscope modules coupled to a slide loadermay further allow flexibility with different types of microscopes whichmay be interchanged with the microscope modules. This approach may alsolower costs and improve reliability without significantly addingcomplexity. For instance, having multiple loaders may not be feasible ascost and lab space may prohibit such an arrangement. Reliability may beimproved due to the modularity of the microscope units. For example, ifa facility has a system with four microscope modules and one modulefails, throughput may drop 75% (as opposed to 100% for a conventionalsystem), but the modularity may minimize the impact of wasted space andtime to replace. Lab workflow and overall efficiency may be improved asall slides are loaded in one place, and down times of microscopes may beminimized or otherwise actively managed.

In one aspect, a slide loader system or microscope system may include aplurality of microscope modules, a cassette for holding a plurality ofslides, a slide loader configured to move the plurality of slidesbetween the cassette and the plurality of microscope modules, and aprocessor coupled to the slide loader. The processor may be configuredwith instructions which, when executed, cause the slide loader to move aslide into or from a selected microscope module among the plurality ofmicroscope modules.

Features from any of the embodiments described herein may be used incombination with one another in accordance with the general principlesdescribed herein. These and other embodiments, features, and advantageswill be more fully understood upon reading the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodimentsand are a part of the specification. Together with the followingdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof the instant disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary microscope, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary slide loader system comprising aplurality of modules, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a workflow diagram showing an exemplary process for managing aplurality of scanners with a slide loader, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for managing aplurality of scanners with a slide loader, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5F are diagrams of exemplary slide loader and microscopescanning module arrangements, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptionsindicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While theexemplary embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods formanaging multiple microscope modules with a slide loader. The system maysupport multiple microscope modules, which allows interchanging ofmicroscope modules to support various combinations of microscopes. Thesystem may include a slide loader capable of loading and unloadingslides into and/or from the microscope modules. The system may optimizeusage of the microscope modules by tracking slides, identifying scanneeds for the slides, identifying which microscope modules areavailable, loading slides into appropriate microscope modules, andretrieving slides from the microscope modules after scanning. The usermay not have to manually coordinate which slides are loaded into whichlocations.

The following will provide, with reference to FIGS. 1-5F, detaileddescriptions of managing multiple microscope modules with a slideloader. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary microscope. FIGS. 2 and 5A-5 fillustrate various configurations for a slide loader with multiplemicroscope modules. FIGS. 3-4 illustrate exemplary processes formanaging multiple microscope modules with a slide loader.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a microscope 100 consistentwith the exemplary disclosed embodiments. The term “microscope” as usedherein generally refers to any device or instrument for magnifying anobject which is smaller than easily observable by the naked eye, i.e.,creating an image of an object for a user where the image is larger thanthe object. One type of microscope may be an “optical microscope” thatuses light in combination with an optical system for magnifying anobject. An optical microscope may be a simple microscope having one ormore magnifying lens. Another type of microscope may be a “computationalmicroscope” that comprises an image sensor and image-processingalgorithms to enhance or magnify the object's size or other properties.Enhancements may include resolution enhancement, quality improvement(e.g., aberration correction, computational refocusing, contrastenhancement, distortion correction, color enhancement, registration,removing certain elements of the data, etc.). The computationalmicroscope may be a dedicated device or created by incorporatingsoftware and/or hardware with an existing optical microscope to producehigh-resolution digital images. As shown in FIG. 1, microscope 100comprises an image capture device 102, a focus actuator 104, acontroller 106 connected to memory 108, an illumination assembly 110,and a user interface 112. An example usage of microscope 100 may becapturing images of a sample 114 mounted on a stage 116 located withinthe field-of-view (FOV) of image capture device 102, processing thecaptured images, and presenting on user interface 112 a magnified imageof sample 114.

Image capture device 102 may be used to capture images of sample 114. Inthis specification, the term “image capture device” as used hereingenerally refers to a device that records the optical signals entering alens as an image or a sequence of images. The optical signals may be inthe near-infrared, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectrums.Examples of an image capture device comprise a CCD camera, a CMOScamera, a photo sensor array, a video camera, a mobile phone equippedwith a camera, a webcam, a preview camera, a microscope objective anddetector, etc. Some embodiments may comprise only a single image capturedevice 102, while other embodiments may comprise two, three, or evenfour or more image capture devices 102. In some embodiments, imagecapture device 102 may be configured to capture images in a definedfield-of-view (FOV). Also, when microscope 100 comprises several imagecapture devices 102, image capture devices 102 may have overlap areas intheir respective FOVs. Image capture device 102 may have one or moreimage sensors (not shown in FIG. 1) for capturing image data of sample114. In other embodiments, image capture device 102 may be configured tocapture images at an image resolution higher than VGA, higher than 1Megapixel, higher than 2 Megapixels, higher than 5 Megapixels, 10Megapixels, higher than 12 Megapixels, higher than 15 Megapixels, orhigher than 20 Megapixels. In addition, image capture device 102 mayalso be configured to have a pixel size smaller than 15 micrometers,smaller than 10 micrometers, smaller than 5 micrometers, smaller than 3micrometers, or smaller than 1.6 micrometer.

In some embodiments, microscope 100 comprises focus actuator 104. Theterm “focus actuator” as used herein generally refers to any devicecapable of converting input signals into physical motion or changing rayconvergence for adjusting the relative distance between sample 114 andimage capture device 102. Various focus actuators may be used,including, for example, linear motors, electrostrictive actuators,electrostatic motors, capacitive motors, voice coil actuators,magnetostrictive actuators, liquid lenses, etc. In some embodiments,focus actuator 104 may comprise an analog position feedback sensorand/or a digital position feedback element. Focus actuator 104 isconfigured to receive instructions from controller 106 in order to makelight beams converge to form a clear and sharply defined image of sample114. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, focus actuator 104 may beconfigured to adjust the distance by moving image capture device 102.

However, in other embodiments, focus actuator 104 may be configured toadjust the distance by moving stage 116, or by moving both image capturedevice 102 and stage 116. Microscope 100 may also comprise controller106 for controlling the operation of microscope 100 according to thedisclosed embodiments. Controller 106 may comprise various types ofdevices for performing logic operations on one or more inputs of imagedata and other data according to stored or accessible softwareinstructions providing desired functionality. For example, controller106 may comprise a central processing unit (CPU), support circuits,digital signal processors, integrated circuits, cache memory, or anyother types of devices for image processing and analysis such as graphicprocessing units (GPUs). The CPU may comprise any number ofmicrocontrollers or microprocessors configured to process the imageryfrom the image sensors. For example, the CPU may comprise any type ofsingle- or multi-core processor, mobile device microcontroller, etc.Various processors may be used, including, for example, processorsavailable from manufacturers such as Intel®, AMD®, etc. and may comprisevarious architectures (e.g., x86 processor, ARM®, etc.). The supportcircuits may be any number of circuits generally well known in the art,including cache, power supply, clock and input-output circuits.Controller 106 may be at a remote location, such as a computing devicecommunicatively coupled to microscope 100.

In some embodiments, controller 106 may be associated with memory 108used for storing software that, when executed by controller 106,controls the operation of microscope 100. In addition, memory 108 mayalso store electronic data associated with operation of microscope 100such as, for example, captured or generated images of sample 114. In oneinstance, memory 108 may be integrated into the controller 106. Inanother instance, memory 108 may be separated from the controller 106.

Specifically, memory 108 may refer to multiple structures orcomputer-readable storage mediums located at controller 106 or at aremote location, such as a cloud server. Memory 108 may comprise anynumber of random access memories, read only memories, flash memories,disk drives, optical storage, tape storage, removable storage and othertypes of storage.

Microscope 100 may comprise illumination assembly 110. The term“illumination assembly” as used herein generally refers to any device orsystem capable of projecting light to illuminate sample 114.

Illumination assembly 110 may comprise any number of light sources, suchas light emitting diodes (LEDs), LED array, lasers, and lamps configuredto emit light, such as a halogen lamp, an incandescent lamp, or a sodiumlamp. In one embodiment, illumination assembly 110 may comprise only asingle light source. Alternatively, illumination assembly 110 maycomprise four, sixteen, or even more than a hundred light sourcesorganized in an array or a matrix. In some embodiments, illuminationassembly 110 may use one or more light sources located at a surfaceparallel to illuminate sample 114. In other embodiments, illuminationassembly 110 may use one or more light sources located at a surfaceperpendicular or at an angle to sample 114. Illumination assembly 110may comprise other optical elements, such as lenses, mirrors, diffusers,active or passive phase elements, intensity elements, etc.

In addition, illumination assembly 110 may be configured to illuminatesample 114 in a series of different illumination conditions. In oneexample, illumination assembly 110 may comprise a plurality of lightsources arranged in different illumination angles, such as atwo-dimensional arrangement of light sources. In this case, thedifferent illumination conditions may comprise different illuminationangles. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a beam 118 projected from a firstillumination angle α1, and a beam 120 projected from a secondillumination angle α2. In some embodiments, first illumination angle α1and second illumination angle α2 may have the same value but oppositesign. In other embodiments, first illumination angle α1 may be separatedfrom second illumination angle α2. However, both angles originate frompoints within the acceptance angle of the optics. In another example,illumination assembly 110 may comprise a plurality of light sourcesconfigured to emit light in different wavelengths. In this case, thedifferent illumination conditions may comprise different wavelengths. Inyet another example, illumination assembly 110 may configured to use anumber of light sources at predetermined times. In this case, thedifferent illumination conditions may comprise different illuminationpatterns. Accordingly and consistent with the present disclosure, thedifferent illumination conditions may be selected from a groupincluding: different durations, different intensities, differentpositions, different illumination angles, different illuminationpatterns, different wavelengths, or any combination thereof.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, microscope 100 may comprise, beconnected with, or in communication with (e.g., over a network, viadedicated connection (e.g., HDMI, VGA, RGB, Coaxial) or wirelessly,e.g., via Bluetooth or WiFi) user interface 112. The term “userinterface” as used herein generally refers to any device suitable forpresenting a magnified image of sample 114 or any device suitable forreceiving inputs from one or more users of microscope 100. FIG. 1illustrates two examples of user interface 112. The first example is asmartphone or a tablet wirelessly communicating with controller 106 overa Bluetooth, cellular connection or a Wi-Fi connection, directly orthrough a remote server. The second example is a PC display or monitorphysically connected to controller 106. In some embodiments, userinterface 112 may comprise user output devices, including, for example,a display, tactile device, speaker, etc. In other embodiments, userinterface 112 may comprise user input devices, including, for example, atouchscreen, microphone, keyboard, pointer devices, cameras, knobs,buttons, etc. With such input devices, a user may be able to provideinformation inputs or commands to microscope 100 by typing instructionsor information, providing voice commands, selecting menu options on ascreen using buttons, pointers, or eye-tracking capabilities, or throughany other suitable techniques for communicating information tomicroscope 100. User interface 112 may be connected (physically orwirelessly) with one or more processing devices, such as controller 106,to provide and receive information to or from a user and process thatinformation. In some embodiments, such processing devices may executeinstructions for responding to keyboard entries or menu selections,recognizing and interpreting touches and/or gestures made on atouchscreen, recognizing and tracking eye movements, receiving andinterpreting voice commands, etc.

Microscope 100 may also comprise or be connected to stage 116. Stage 116comprises any horizontal rigid surface where sample 114 may be mountedfor examination. Stage 116 may comprise a mechanical connector forretaining a slide containing sample 114 in a fixed position. Themechanical connector may use one or more of the following: a mount, anattaching member, a holding arm, a clamp, a clip, an adjustable frame, alocking mechanism, a spring or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, stage 116 may comprise a translucent portion or an openingfor allowing light to illuminate sample 114. For example, lighttransmitted from illumination assembly 110 may pass through sample 114and towards image capture device 102. In some embodiments, stage 116and/or sample 114 may be moved using motors or manual controls in the XYplane to enable imaging of multiple areas of the sample.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary configuration of a slide loader system 200.As shown in FIG. 2, slide loader system 200 may include a cassette 220for holding slides 230, a slide loader 240 including an end effector242, and multiple microscope modules 250 which may optionally bedisposed in a cabinet 202. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a processor,such as controller 106 and/or memory 108, may be coupled to slide loadersystem 200. The processor may be a separate device or may be integratedwith slide loader system 200, such as in slide loader 240.

Cassette 220 may comprise a housing for a plurality of slides 230. Auser and/or slide loader 240 may insert and remove slides 230 fromvarious slide-holding locations in cassette 220. Although in FIG. 2cassette 220 is depicted as a cabinet-like structure, in otherembodiments cassette 220 may have different shapes and/or structures andmay include more than one structure. Each slot or receptacle for a slide230 may be recognized as a specific location and may be associated witha specific coordinate reference as described herein.

Slide loader 240 may comprise a mechanical device which may include alinkage capable of engaging, retrieving and loading slides 230 intoand/or out of cassette 220 and/or microscope modules microscope modules250 and moving slides 230 therebetween. Prior linkages suitable for usein accordance with the present disclosure are known to one of ordinaryskill in the art and may comprise gears, motors, encoders to measureposition, and combinations thereof. For example, slide loader 242 mayinclude a mechanical arm capable of moving between cassette 220 andmicroscope modules 250. Slide loader 240 may include end effector 242configured to engage slides 230. End effector 242 may comprise amechanical device capable of engaging and holding one or more slides 230at a time. For example, end effector 242 may include fingers and/orgrips capable of grasping, adhesive elements, vacuum holder, a surfacefor resting the slide, etc. In some embodiments, slide loader 240 mayinclude multiple end effectors 242. The multiple end effectors 242 mayeach be capable of retrieving and loading slides 230, or may bespecialized for particular tasks, for instance a separate end effector242 for retrieving and another for loading.

Each of the plurality of microscope modules 250 may include a scanningdevice, such as microscope 100. Microscope modules 250 may includesimilar types of microscopes or may include various types or classes ofmicroscopes, including microscopes capable of different resolutions. Forinstance, a microscope module of the plurality of modules 250 maycomprise an optical microscope configured to image tissue with aresolution of 100 μm, 10 μm, 1 μm, 0.5 μm, 0.2 μm, 0.1 μm or less, orwithin a range defined by any two of the preceding values. For example,the resolution of the microscope may be within a range from 0.1 μm to 10μm, 0.1 μm to 0.2 μm, 0.1 μm to 0.5 μm, etc. A microscope module of theplurality of modules 250 may include an illumination array havingmultiple illumination sources configured to illuminate a sample undervarious illumination conditions at various times. Other examples of amicroscope module among the plurality of modules 250 include a highdefinition microscope, a digital microscope, a computational microscope,a 3D microscope, a phase imaging microscope, a phase contrastmicroscope, a dark field microscope, a differential interferencecontrast microscope, a lightsheet microscope, a confocal microscope, aholographic microscope, and a fluorescence-based microscope. Each of theplurality of microscope modules 250 may image a respective slide amongslides 230. A slide can be placed in a specific microscope module of theplurality of modules 250 independently from other microscope modules ofthe plurality of modules 250. The plurality of microscope modules 250may be modular in that microscope modules 250 may be added and/orremoved from slide loader system 200. Slide loader system 200, one ofmicroscope modules 250, and/or a separate device which may be local orremote, may track which microscope modules 250 are attached andavailable and readjust as microscope modules 250 are added or removed ora user may initiate the configuration slide loader system 200 with thedetails of the change.

Microscope modules 250 may comprise their own respective memory and/orprocessing units or may share memory and/or processing units, which maybe remote such as a separate device, or local to some or all microscopemodules 250. In some embodiments, slide loader system 200 may share orcommunicate with the computing resources of microscope modules 250, inorder to manage and prioritize loads between the shared computingresources of microscope modules 250.

Microscope modules 250 may be designed to facilitate interchangeability.As seen in FIG. 2, microscope modules 250 may have a block-likestructure to allow stacking in any configuration. A microscope module250 may be swapped out for another microscope module 250 or left empty.Although in other embodiments microscope modules 250 may have differentshapes/structures. In addition, microscope modules 250 may be arrangedin any layout or configuration. For example, FIG. 2 shows six microscopemodules 250 in a 2×3 arrangement. As described further herein, otherarrangements may be possible due to the modularity of microscope modules250 or by design.

In FIG. 2, microscope modules 250 may be disposed in an optional cabinet202. Cabinet 202 may be shaped to house multiple microscope modules 250.In some embodiments, cabinet 202 may include shelves or supports foreach level of microscope modules 250, such that microscope modules 250are not directly stacked. In some embodiments, cabinet 202 may includeelectrical connectors or other necessary connectors such ascommunication connectors for microscope modules 250, for example forcoupling to the processor of slide loader system 200.

Slide loader 240 may be configured to locate slides 230 and microscopemodules 250 based on a coordinate system. In FIG. 2, the coordinatesystem may correspond to the illustrated x, y, and z-axes. Eachlocation, such as locations of receptacles in cassettes 220 andlocations of stages for each microscope of the plurality of modules 250,may be tracked using coordinates in the coordinate system. Although a3-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system is described, in otherembodiments the coordinate system may be different, such as a2-dimensional coordinate system, a polar coordinate system (see e.g.,FIG. 5F), etc. The coordinate system may correspond to movementcapabilities and/or degrees-of-freedom of slide loader 240. In FIG. 2,slide loader 240 may move along the three labeled axes, x, y, and z.

The controller comprising the processor as described herein can beconfigured with instructions coordinate movement of the slide loader toplace the microscope slides in the appropriate module comprising aspecific microscope. For example, the location of each slide in thecassette may comprise a specific coordinate location associated with aunique identifier. The location where each microscope among theplurality receives a slide may comprise a specific coordinate referenceassociated with specific microscope in a module, and each microscope maycomprise a unique identifier. The processor as described herein can beconfigured with instructions to move a specific microscope slide at aspecific location in a cassette to a specific microscope module inresponse to the microscope slide in the cassette and the type or classof the microscope to which the microscope slide has been assigned withprioritization as described herein. In some embodiments, each slide maycomprise a unique identifier to track movement of the slide among theplurality of slides and modules and cassettes.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary workflow 300 for managing multiplemicroscope modules with a slide loader, such as slide loader system 200or any other embodiment described herein. At block 310, a slide may beplaced in a designated location. The designated location may include anempty receptacle in cassette 220. A user may place slide 230 intocassette 220. Alternatively, slide 230 may be placed, for example, by aseparate device for loading slides into cassette 220. In yet otherembodiments, slide 230 may be placed by slide loader 240, for instanceif slide loader system 200 shuffles or rearranges slides 230 or slide230 is placed back into cassette 220 after a prior iteration ofscanning.

In some embodiments, certain receptacles in cassette 220 may be reservedfor loading new slides for slide loader system 200. The receptacles maybe divided into groups based on priority or scan need. For example,certain receptacles may be reserved for high priority slides. Certainreceptacles may be reserved based on scan need which may be satisfied byparticular microscope modules 250, such as high-resolution scan need fora high-resolution microscope. Slide loader system 200 may track whichslides 230 are in which particular receptacle and may track whether aslide 230 is in a reserved receptacle. Alternatively or in combination,each of the slides may comprise a unique identifier, and theprioritization of the slide determined in response to the uniqueidentifier.

To further aid in tracking slides, each receptacle may correspond to alocation. The location may correspond to coordinates or may berepresented as other types of data which slide loader system 200 may useto move slide loader 240 to desired positions. In some embodiments, eachlocation may be tracked such that slide loader system 200 may trackwhether a particular location is empty or holds a specific slide 230.

A new slide may be detected and identified. At block 320A, a sensor maydetect the slide. The sensor may be placed, for example, on cassette220, slide loader 240, and/or on one or more of microscope modules 250and/or cabinet 202. The sensor may be capable of detecting and/oridentifying slides. For example, the sensor may comprise a camera, abarcode reader, or a laser scanner. In some embodiments, the sensor mayalso be capable of capturing a preview image of the slide. Slide 230 maybe detected in cassette 220, slide loader 240, or one of the microscopemodules 250.

Each slide 230 may be associated with a unique identifier. The sensormay be capable of detecting the unique identifier. For example, theunique identifier may be represented by a barcode on slide 230. Otherexamples of identifying the slide include reading an optical characterrecognition code, optical character recognition, radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, user input, preview image, or other suitableidentification. Slide loader system 200 may associate the uniqueidentifier with the current location of the corresponding slide 230. Theunique identifier may allow slide loader system 200 to retrieveadditional information about a particular slide 230.

The information may include attributes and/or parameters which slideloader system 200 may use for managing slides 230. The information mayinclude priority information such that slide loader system 200 maycompare priorities of slides 230. In some embodiments, the priorityinformation may be based on which location slide 230 was placed. Theinformation may include user defined information which was input by theuser, such as a particular instruction for scanning. Alternatively, theinformation may include a sequence or order the particular slide 230 wasdetected. For example, the information may include a timestamp of firstbeing detected, or may include an order number, which may be one greaterthan the previously-detected slide 230.

The information may be based on other known attributes of slide 230. Forexample, the information may include information as to a type of samplein slide 230. Based on the type of sample, slide loader system 200 maydetermine priority and/or scanning needs. For example, if a slide 230included a frozen tissue sample, slide loader system 200 may determine ahigh priority so as to scan slide 230 before the frozen tissue samplemelts or condensation forms or in a clinically required time period, inaccordance with some embodiments.

Similar to slides 230, microscope modules 250 may have uniqueidentifiers which may be associated with additional information.Microscope modules 250 may be identified based on detection by a sensor,similar to slides 230. In some embodiments, microscope modules 250 mayinclude their own computer, microprocessor, and/or sensor, andelectrical connectors for coupling to the processor of slide loadersystem 200. In such embodiments, each of the plurality of microscopemodules 250 may send unique identifier and/or additional informationassociated with the microscope located within the module. The additionalinformation may include information regarding the scanning capabilitiesof the respective microscope module 250, a current status (e.g., free,busy, error, etc.) and parameters regarding the respective microscopemodule 250. The parameters may correspond to where slides 230 should beinserted and may include height, location, angles such as roll, pitch,and yaw, direction, size, depth, etc.

At block 330, the loader may retrieve the slide. Slide loader 240 maymove to the slide's location and end effector 242 may engage andretrieve the slide in response to instructions from the controllercomprising the processor.

In some embodiments, the slide may be selected for retrieval. Forinstance, after detecting and identifying the slide, information aboutthe slide may be retrieved. The slide may then be selected based on theinformation. The slide may be selected based on priority (340A), userdefinition (340B), sequentially (340C), clinical relation to otherslides, or some combination thereof. For instance, slide loader system200 may select the next highest priority slide 230. The next highestpriority slide may be determined based on information associated withone or more of the plurality of slides 230. Slide loader 240 may thenmove to the location associated with the selected slide 230.Alternatively, priority may be determined based on location, such thatslide loader 240 may move to the first filled high priority receptacle.For user-defined selection, the user definition may point out particularslides 230 for scanning in a particular sequence or may providecustomized guidelines for selecting slides 230. For sequentialselection, slides 230 may be selected sequentially, such as afirst-in-first-out (FIFO) queue.

At block 350, the loader may place the slide in an available module.After engaging the selected slide 230 using end effector 242, slideloader 240 may move to an appropriate microscope module 250. Slideloader system 200 may select the appropriate microscope module 250.

Slide loader system 200 may detect and identify what microscope modules250 are available in the system. As described herein, detection mayinclude sensor-based detection of microscope modules 250 and/orcommunication from microscope modules 250. Microscope modules 250 maythen be identified and corresponding information retrieved, as describedabove. Scan capabilities of microscope modules 250 may also bedetermined. Slide loader system 200 may maintain an index of availablemicroscope modules, which may include scan capabilities and locations,which may be associated with unique identifiers as described herein. Insome embodiments, microscope modules 250 may be changed and/orrearranged, slide loader system 200 may update the index of availablemicroscope modules. The update may happen, for instance, when a changeis detected or requested, such as detecting a new microscope module 250or absence of a microscope module 250. Microscope modules 250 may beremoved and replaced with other microscope modules 250 such thatlocations may be updated for the new microscope module 250.Alternatively, microscope modules 250 may be removed, disabled, in acalibration or testing mode, in a maintenance operation, or otherwiseunavailable. The update may happen periodically, such as once per day,hour, etc. Each microscope module may be associated with a uniqueidentifier, which is associated with data for the microscope such as themicroscopes scanning capabilities as described herein.

The appropriate microscope module 250 may be selected based on the scanneeds of selected slide 230. A microscope module 250 that meets orexceeds the scan needs and is also available may be selected. Forexample, a first microscope module 250 may be of a first class and asecond microscope module 250 may be of a second class. The scan needsmay require the first class of microscope and thus the first microscopemodule 250 may be selected. If more than one microscope module 250 cansatisfy the scan needs, a particular microscope module 250 may beselected based on other factors, such as selecting the least capablemicroscope module 250 that satisfies the scan needs, load balancing,minimizing distance for slide loader 240 to move, expected load based ondetected slides 230, managing computing and other resources shared bymicroscope modules 250, etc.

The slide may be placed in an available module using communication witha module or a processor connected to the module (360A), a sensor on theloader (360B), based on predefined time and/or sequence (360C), or acombination thereof. For example, the coordinates for the location of astage of the selected microscope module 250 along with other parametersmay be determined for example communicating with the selected microscopemodule 250. Slide loader 240 may adjust loading selected slide 230 intoselected microscope module 250 based on the parameters, such as shiftingslide loader 240 to more accurately insert slide 230 into microscopemodule 250. A sensor on slide loader 240 may be used to assist endeffector 242 in correctly aligning with microscope module 250. Apredefined time and/or sequence may determine a direction and durationfor slide loader 240 to move from one particular location to anotherparticular location, akin to dead-reckoning navigation.

At block 370, after scanning is complete, the loader may retrieve theslide. Slide loader 240, using end effector 242, may engage and removeslide 230 from microscope module 250.

The microscope modules may be configured to transmit a signal to aprocessor indicating that the module has completed imaging of a slide onthe module and is ready for removal of the slide on the module andreceiving another slide. For example, when microscope module 250completes scanning slide 230, microscope module 250 may communicate tothe processor of slide loader system 200. In some embodiments, thecommunication may include, for instance, a success and/or error message.In other embodiments, the communication may indicate whether themicroscope module is currently scanning or not. In some embodiments,rather than communicating completion, the completion may be assumedafter a predetermined amount of time, corresponding to a time tocomplete associated with the scan needs, elapses.

In some embodiments, more than one microscope module 250 may be finishedsuch that more than one slide 230 is ready for retrieval. Slide loadersystem 200 may select which slide 230 to retrieve based on otherfactors, such as priority as described herein. For example, slide 230having the highest priority may be retrieved.

Slide loader system 200 may further coordinate retrieval of slide 230from microscope module 250. The retrieval may use communication with themodule or processor connected to the module (380A), use a sensor on theloader (380B), based on a predefined time and/or sequence (380C), or acombination thereof.

Microscope module 250 and/or a processor coupled to microscope module250 may communicate parameters and/or other data to aid slide loader 240accurately maneuver end effector 242 for retrieving slide 230.Alternatively, a sensor on slide loader 240 may provide additionalfeedback for engaging slide 230. In other embodiments, slide loader 240may move according to a predefined direction and/or durationcorresponding to the location for retrieving slide 230.

At block 390, the loader may place the slide. For instance, slide loader240 may place slide 230 back into cassette 220 after retrieving slide230 from microscope module 250. The location where slide 230 is placedmay be determined, for example, using the same initial location (395A),a location based on sequence, slide ID, and/or user definition (395B), aclinical relation such as slides relating to the same case, or a slidecollection area (395C).

The location may be the same location from which slide 230 wasoriginally retrieved. For instance, slide 230's location may be savedwith slide 230's identifier when retrieved in order to be replaced inthe same receptacle of cassette 220. In some embodiments, slide loader200 may track the locations such that if another slide 230 was detectedin the location before the original slide 230 can be returned, slideloader 200 may take action to prevent double loading of a receptacle.For example, slide loader 200 may move the extra slide 230 to anotherreceptacle and reassign its location or slide loader 200 may select adifferent empty receptacle, which may be near the original location, forreturning the original slide 230.

In addition, slide loader 200 may place the original slide 230 in adifferent location for other reasons. For instance, slide 230, havingbeen scanned by one or more of the modules, may now have a lowerpriority than other slides 230 and thus placed into a lower prioritylocation of cassette 220, or a completed scan location of cassette 220.Other information associated with slide 230 may be used to determine thelocation. The location may also be based on a user-defined location. Theuser may have designated a specific location for slide 230 to be placedor the user may have input general rules for placing completed slides230, such as placing them below slides 230 that have yet to be scanned.

The location may be based on a sequentially selected available locationin the cassette. For example, as cassette 220 empties out, such as fromthe top, the next empty receptacle may be selected.

Alternatively, slide 230 may be placed in a specified slide collectionarea for collecting slides that have been scanned. The slide collectionarea may be reserved receptacles in cassette 220 or may be a differentarea.

The workflow 300 may comprise a method for managing multiple microscopemodules with a slide loader, and each of the blocks of workflow 300 maycomprise steps of the method for adaptive sensing of the sample. Thesteps of workflow 300 may be performed in a different order orinterrupted with other iterations of workflow 300. For example, manyslides 230 may first be loaded into microscope modules 250 before beingretrieved. In other words, at any given moment, slide loader 200 maydetermine, based on factors described herein, whether and where to loador retrieve any slide 230 in the system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 400 for managing multiplemicroscope modules with a slide loader. The steps of process 400 may beperformed by a slide loader system, such as slide loader system 200 orother embodiments described herein. In the following description,reference is made to components of slide loader system 200 for purposesof illustration. It will be appreciated, however, that otherimplementations are possible and that other components may be utilizedto implement the example process. For example, FIGS. 5A-5F illustratevarious slide loader systems 500A-500F (any of which may alsoindividually be referred to as slide loader system 500), any of whichmay correspond to slide loader system 200.

FIGS. 5A-5F show slide loader systems 500A-500F (which may correspond toslide loader system 200), respectively, which may include a cassette 520(which may correspond to cassette 220), slides 530 (which may correspondto slides 230), slide loader 540 (which may correspond to slide loader240), end effector 542 (which may correspond to end effector 242), aplurality of microscope modules 550 (which may correspond to microscopemodules 250), stage 556, sensor 560, and base 570. Cassette 520, whichmay correspond to cassette 220, may include receptacles for holdingslides 530. In FIG. 5A, cassette 520 includes two towers, although otherconfigurations may be used. In FIG. 5A, slide loader 540 includes sensor560, which may be a camera or other sensor described herein. Microscopemodule 550 may include stage 556 which holds slides 230.

Base 570 may comprise an alignment structure which may align microscopemodules 550, cassette 520, and/or slide loader 540. Base 570 mayfacilitate alignment of the various locations (e.g., receptacles ofcassette 520 and stages 556 of microscope modules 550) with slide loader540 with respect to the coordinate reference points used by slide loader540. Base 570 may ensure that cassette 520, slide loader 540, andmicroscope modules 550 remain static with respect to each other, orotherwise prevent components from being displaced, which may interferewith the coordinates used by slide loader 540.

In some embodiments, base 570 may comprise a structure on which one ormore of cassette 520, slide loader 540, and microscope modules 550 maybe disposed. For example, slide loader systems 500A, 500B and 500C mayinclude this base 570. In some embodiments, base 570 may comprise a railor path along which slide loader 540 may move. For example, slide loadersystem 500E includes this base 570. In some embodiments, base 570 may bea guide for placement of cassette 520, slide loader 540, and/ormicroscope modules 550. In some embodiments base 570 may comprise aportion of the linkage. Alternatively or in combination, the base 570can maintain alignment of the microscope modules with respect to thecassette.

FIGS. 5A-5F illustrate various embodiments of slide loader systems.FIGS. 5A and 5B show that sensor 560 may be disposed on slide loader540. The sensor 560 may comprise any sensor as described herein. Theplacement of sensor 560 may ensure that sensor 560 may detect microscopemodules 550 at different heights. For instance, in FIG. 5A there is onlyone row of microscope modules 550 but in FIG. 5B there are two rows,requiring sensor 560 to detect microscope modules 550 at two heights. Asfurther seen in FIG. 5B, microscope modules 550 may be stacked inincomplete rows. The sensor and end effector can be configured to movewith the coordinate references in response to the processor coupled tothe linkage as described herein. For example, the sensor and endeffector can be moved in lateral and transverse directions such asupward and downward.

FIG. 5C shows that sensor 560 may be mounted on microscope module 550and another sensor 560 may be mounted on cassette 520. FIG. 5D showsthat each structure of cassette 520 may include its own sensor 560. FIG.5E shows how base 270 may be a rail-like structure along which slideloader 540 traverses. Slide loader 540 may also include a z stagecomponent such that end effector 542 may move vertically.

FIG. 5F shows an alternative layout for slide loader system 500F. InFIG. 5F, slide loader 540 may be configured to move radially. Forinstance, end effector 542 may be attached to an arm capable of movingvertically up and down, and slide loader 540 may rotate to move the armbetween cassettes 520 and microscope modules 550. With this slide loader540, cassette 520 and microscope modules 550 may be placed radiallyaround slide loader 540. Other layouts may be used based on movementrange and degrees-of-freedom of slide loader 540.

Returning to FIG. 4, at step 410, a slide may be selected among aplurality of slides for scanning. Slide loader system 500 may select oneof slides 530 based on one or more factors as described herein. In someembodiments, slide 530 may be automatically selected, for example, whenslide loader system 500 determines that selected slide 530 should benext loaded into microscope module 550. In some embodiments, slideloader system 500 may have been instructed, such as by the user, toselect slide 530. By selecting slide 530, slide loader system 500 maymore efficiently scan all slides 530 than a FIFO queue while complyingwith priority and scan needs.

At step 420, the selected slide may be retrieved. Slide loader 540 maymove from its current location to the location of selected slide 530.Coordinates for the location of slide 530 may be used to determine howfar and in what direction to move slide loader 540. Slide loader 540 maythen engage slide 530 using end effector 542. End effector 542 mayextend from slide loader 540, for instance extend a distance based onthe coordinates of the location, and engage slide 530. End effector 542may include mechanical appendages for grasping and/or adhesive surfacesto aid in engagement, a vacuum holder, a surface for holding and/orsupporting slide 530, etc. End effector 542 may retract away from thelocation and slide loader 540 may be prepared to move to a destinationfor slide 530.

At step 430, a module of a plurality of modules may be selected. Slideloader system 500 may select a specific microscope module 550.Microscope module 550 may be selected based on slide 530 in order tomeet its scan needs. However, rather than merely selecting any availablemicroscope module 550 that may satisfy slide 530's scan needs, slideloader system 500 may further optimize usage of microscope modules 550by considering other factors. For instance, by knowing what slides 530are in the system and their respective scan needs, slide loader system500 may predict or estimate a possible workload for each microscopemodule 550. In some embodiments, one or more microscope modules 550 maybe coupled to a processor, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU),which may perform computational analysis for the coupled microscopemodules 550. Microscope module 550 may be selected to more efficientlyallocate computing resources, such as processing on the GPU. Forexample, a microscope module 550 coupled to an idle GPU may be selectedover a microscope module 550 coupled to a busy GPU. Alternatively,microscope module 550 may be selected based on estimated time tocomplete predicted workloads such that overhead or bottlenecks may beminimized.

In some embodiments, microscope module 550 may be previously selectedbefore slide 530. For instance, a particularly busy microscope module550 may have just completed a scan and has been unloaded. Slide loadersystem 500 may determine that this particular microscope module 550should be loaded next and may accordingly select slide 530.

In some embodiments, slide loader system 500 may provide furtherinstructions to microscope module 550. For example, slide loader system500 may communicate the ID and/or additional information of slide 530 tomicroscope module 550 so that microscope module 550 may determine how toscan slide 530. Slide loader system 500 may communicate the scan needsof slide 530. Alternatively, slide loader system 500 may communicateexplicit scanning instructions to microscope module 550. In someembodiments, the scanning instructions, which may be based on the scanneeds of slide 530, from slide loader system 500 may override normaloperation of microscope module 550. For instance, the scanninginstructions may include throttling or other modifications in order toefficiently utilize all computing resources available to microscopemodules 550.

At step 440, the selected slide may be loaded into the selected module.Slide loader system 500 may move slide loader 540 to the locationcorresponding to selected microscope module 550. Slide loader 540 maymove to stage 556 of microscope module 550 and extend end effector 542to stage 556. End effector 542 may drop or disengage slide 530 to loadslide 530 onto stage 556.

At step 450, the slide may be retrieved from the module after the modulescans the slide. Slide loader 540 may move back to the locationcorresponding to selected microscope module 550 and extend end effector542 towards stage 556. End effector 542 may engage slide 530, removeslide 530 from stage 556, and retract away from stage 556. Slide loader540 may then move slide 530 to another location for drop off.

In some embodiments, microscope module 550 may communicate when scanningslide 530 is complete. Microscope module 550 may send a signal whenscanning is complete or may indicate that it is no longer scanning. Insome embodiments, sensor 560 may detect when microscope module 550completes scanning. In some embodiments, slide loader system 500 mayassume microscope module 550 has completed scanning after apredetermined amount of time, which may be associated with microscopemodule 550, has elapsed. In such embodiments, stage 556 may lock slide530 to prevent premature retrieval.

Any of the steps of method 400 can be combined with any method stepcorresponding to a block of workflow 300 as described herein. Althoughworkflow 300 and method 400 are described as a sequence of steps, insome embodiments various concurrent iterations may result in steps beingstalled, repeated, and/or performed in different orders. Slide loadersystem 500 may be constantly loading and retrieving slides 530 as moreslides 530 are added and other slides 530 complete scanning bymicroscope modules 550. In addition, slide loader system 500 may beconstantly monitoring for changes to slides 520 and/or microscopemodules 550. Slide loader system 550 may operate regardless of changesto microscope modules 550. The processor as described herein can beconfigured with instructions to perform any step of any method asdescribed herein.

A user may be able to load slides into a cassette of a slide loadersystem or directly into one of the microscope modules of the slideloader system. The user may provide identification and/or informationfor each slide, for example by affixing a barcode to each slide orinputting information to a database connected to the slide loadersystem. The slide loader system may then take inventory of the slides aswell as where they are located (e.g., in a cassette, a microscopemodule, other area, etc.) along with which microscope modules areconnected and available. The slide loader system may prioritize theslides using the factors and signals described herein, and may furthermatch slides to appropriate microscope modules, based on scan needs andother factors. The slide loader may then proceed to retrieve and loadslides based on the prioritization and matching. The slide loader systemmay constantly monitor the slides and microscope modules and reactaccordingly to changes in status, such as scan completion,removal/addition of microscope modules, etc. For example, the user mayload a slide into an available microscope module. The slide loadersystem may detect these changes and readjust load balancing of otherslides to accommodate these changes. The slide loader system may further“take over” and manage the user-inserted slide and correspondingmicroscope module by monitoring a completion status and removing theslide when complete. Thus, embodiments described herein may provideautomated management of scanning multiple slides with multiplemicroscope modules using a slide loader.

As detailed above, the computing devices and systems described and/orillustrated herein broadly represent any type or form of computingdevice or system capable of executing computer-readable instructions,such as those contained within the modules described herein. In theirmost basic configuration, these computing device(s) may each comprise atleast one memory device and at least one physical processor.

The term “memory” or “memory device,” as used herein, generallyrepresents any type or form of volatile or non-volatile storage deviceor medium capable of storing data and/or computer-readable instructions.In one example, a memory device may store, load, and/or maintain one ormore of the modules described herein. Examples of memory devicescomprise, without limitation, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read OnlyMemory (ROM), flash memory, Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), Solid-State Drives(SSDs), optical disk drives, caches, variations or combinations of oneor more of the same, or any other suitable storage memory.

In addition, the term “processor” or “physical processor,” as usedherein, generally refers to any type or form of hardware-implementedprocessing unit capable of interpreting and/or executingcomputer-readable instructions. In one example, a physical processor mayaccess and/or modify one or more modules stored in the above-describedmemory device. Examples of physical processors comprise, withoutlimitation, microprocessors, microcontrollers, Central Processing Units(CPUs), Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that implement softcoreprocessors, Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), portionsof one or more of the same, variations or combinations of one or more ofthe same, or any other suitable physical processor.

Although illustrated as separate elements, the method steps describedand/or illustrated herein may represent portions of a singleapplication. In addition, in some embodiments one or more of these stepsmay represent or correspond to one or more software applications orprograms that, when executed by a computing device, may cause thecomputing device to perform one or more tasks, such as the method step.

In addition, one or more of the devices described herein may transformdata, physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices fromone form to another. For example, one or more of the devices recitedherein may receive image data of a sample to be transformed, transformthe image data, output a result of the transformation to determine a 3Dprocess, use the result of the transformation to perform the 3D process,and store the result of the transformation to produce an output image ofthe sample. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the modulesrecited herein may transform a processor, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, and/or any other portion of a physical computing device from oneform of computing device to another form of computing device byexecuting on the computing device, storing data on the computing device,and/or otherwise interacting with the computing device.

The term “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, generally refers toany form of device, carrier, or medium capable of storing or carryingcomputer-readable instructions. Examples of computer-readable mediacomprise, without limitation, transmission-type media, such as carrierwaves, and non-transitory-type media, such as magnetic-storage media(e.g., hard disk drives, tape drives, and floppy disks), optical-storagemedia (e.g., Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), andBLU-RAY disks), electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives andflash media), and other distribution systems.

The process parameters and sequence of the steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or comprise additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

The processor as disclosed herein can be configured to perform any oneor more steps of a method as disclosed herein.

The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled inthe art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosedherein should be considered in all respects illustrative and notrestrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and theirequivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.

Unless otherwise noted, the terms “connected to” and “coupled to” (andtheir derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are to beconstrued as permitting both direct and indirect (i.e., via otherelements or components) connection. In addition, the terms “a” or “an,”as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as meaning“at least one of” Finally, for ease of use, the terms “including” and“having” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification andclaims, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word“comprising.”

This disclosure also includes the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A microscope system comprising: a plurality of microscopemodules; a cassette for holding a plurality of slides; a slide loaderconfigured to move the plurality of slides between the cassette and theplurality of microscope modules; and a processor coupled to the slideloader, the processor configured with instructions which, when executed,cause the slide loader to: move a slide into or from a selectedmicroscope module among the plurality of microscope modules.

Clause 2. The microscope system according to clause 1, wherein theprocessor is configured with instructions to: select a slide among theplurality of slides for scanning; retrieve the selected slide from thecassette; select a microscope module of the plurality of microscopemodules; load the slide into the selected microscope module; and afterthe microscope module scans the slide, retrieve the slide frommicroscope module.

Clause 3. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 or 2,wherein the slide loader comprises a linkage coupled to the processor tomove the plurality of slides to the plurality of modules in response toinstructions from the processor, to retrieve the plurality of slidesfrom the plurality of modules, and to place the plurality of slides onthe slide loader in response to instructions from the processor.

Clause 4. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 3,wherein the plurality of microscope modules comprises a plurality oflocations to receive the plurality of microscope slides and wherein eachof the plurality of locations corresponds to one of the plurality ofmicroscope modules and comprises a location separate from otherlocations of the plurality of locations and wherein the linkage isconfigured to place one or more of the plurality of slides at said eachof the plurality of locations in response to instructions from theprocessor.

Clause 5. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 4,wherein the processor is configured with a plurality of coordinatereferences corresponding to the plurality of locations and wherein theprocessor is configured with instructions to place each of the pluralityof slides at a location among the plurality of locations based on theplurality of coordinate references and an identifier of the slide.

Clause 6. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 5,further comprising an end effector coupled to the linkage and theprocessor, the end effector configured to engage a slide among theplurality of slides, remove the slide from the cassette, disengage theslide at a location among the plurality of locations, engage the slideat the location among the plurality of locations, remove the slide fromthe location, and place the slide on the cassette.

Clause 7. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 6,further comprising a plurality of end effectors each coupled to thelinkage and the processor and configured to engage and disengage theslide.

Clause 8. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 7,wherein: the plurality of microscope modules comprises a firstmicroscope module comprising a first class of microscope and a secondmicroscope module comprising a second class of microscope, the firstclass and second class are selected from the group consisting of a highdefinition microscope, a digital microscope, a computational microscope,a 3D microscope, a phase imaging microscope, a phase contrastmicroscope, a dark field microscope, a differential interferencecontrast microscope, a lightsheet microscope, a confocal microscope, aholographic microscope and a fluorescence-based microscope, theprocessor is configured to select between the first class and the secondclass based on the slide, and the instructions cause the slide loader tomove the slide to the first microscope module or the second microscopemodule in response selecting between the first class and the secondclass.

Clause 9. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 8,wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for: detectingthe slide; identifying the slide; retrieving information about theidentified slide; and selecting, based on the information, the slide.

Clause 10. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 9,wherein detecting the slide comprises detecting the slide in at leastone of the cassette, the slide loader, or one of the plurality ofmicroscope modules.

Clause 11. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 10,wherein identifying the slide comprises reading at least one of a uniqueidentifier, a bar code, an optical character recognition code, opticalcharacter recognition, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, auser input, or a preview image of the slide.

Clause 12. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 11,wherein the information comprises a priority for the slide and selectingthe slide comprises selecting the slide based on comparing the priorityto priorities of other slides in the cassette.

Clause 13. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 12,wherein the information comprises a user-defined selection and selectingthe slide comprises selecting the slide based on the user-definedselection.

Clause 14. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 13,wherein the information comprises an order in a queue of slides in thecassette and selecting the slide comprises selecting the slide based onthe order.

Clause 15. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 14,further comprising a sensor for detecting and identifying slides.

Clause 16. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 15,wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a camera, a barcode reader,or a laser.

Clause 17. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 16,wherein the sensor is located on at least one of the cassette, the slideloader, or one of the plurality of microscope modules.

Clause 18. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 17,wherein the sensor is configured to capture a preview image of theslide.

Clause 19. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 18,wherein the instructions comprise instructions for selecting theselected microscope module, comprising: identifying each of theplurality of microscope modules; determining a scan capability for eachof the plurality of microscope modules; determining a scan need for theslide; and selecting the microscope module based on the scan capabilityof the selected microscope module satisfying the scan need of the slide.

Clause 20. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 19,wherein identifying each of the plurality of microscope modulescomprises determining coordinates for each of the plurality ofmicroscope modules.

Clause 21. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 20,wherein loading the slide into the selected microscope module comprisesloading the slide when the selected microscope module is available.

Clause 22. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 21,wherein moving the slide into or from the selected microscope modulecomprises communicating with the selected microscope module.

Clause 23. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 22,wherein moving the slide into or from the selected microscope modulecomprises using a sensor on at least one of the slide loader or theselected microscope module.

Clause 24. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 23,wherein moving the slide into or from the selected microscope modulecomprises loading the slide into or retrieving the slide from theselected microscope module based on a predefined timing sequence for theselected microscope module.

Clause 25. The microscope according to any of clauses 1 to 24, whereinretrieving the slide from the selected microscope module comprisesretrieving the slide when the slide has a highest priority of slides tobe retrieved from the microscope modules or the cassette.

Clause 26. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 25,wherein retrieving the slide from the selected microscope modulecomprises communicating with the selected microscope module.

Clause 27. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 26,wherein retrieving the slide from the selected microscope modulecomprises using a sensor on at least one of the slide loader or theselected microscope module.

Clause 28. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 27,wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructionswhich cause the slide loader to replace the slide into the cassetteafter retrieving the slide from the selected microscope module.

Clause 29. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 28,wherein the slide loader replaces the slide into a location in thecassette from which the slide loader previously retrieved the slide.

Clause 30. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 29,wherein the slide loader replaces the slide into a location in thecassette different from where the slide loader previously retrieved theslide.

Clause 31. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 30,wherein the location is determined based on a sequentially selectedavailable location in the cassette.

Clause 32. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 31,wherein the location is determined based on information associated withthe slide.

Clause 33. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 32,wherein the location is determined based on a user-defined location.

Clause 34. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 33,wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructionswhich cause the slide loader to place the slide in a slide collectionarea after retrieving the slide from the microscope module.

Clause 35. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 34,wherein each of the plurality of microscope modules comprises an opticalmicroscope configured to image tissue with a resolution of 100 μm, 10μm, 1 μm or finer.

Clause 36. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 35,wherein each of the plurality of microscope modules is configured totransmit a signal to the processor indicating that the module hascompleted imaging of a slide on the module and is ready for removal ofthe slide on the module and receiving another slide.

Clause 37. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 36,wherein each of the plurality of microscope slides comprises a uniqueidentifier and each of the plurality of microscope modules comprises aunique identifier and wherein the processor is configured withinstructions to route a slide to a microscope module in response to theunique identifier of the slide and the unique identifier of a microscopemodule.

Clause 38. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 37,wherein the plurality of microscope modules, the cassette and the slideloader comprise an alignment structure to align the plurality ofmicroscope modules, the cassette and the slide loader in order to aligna plurality of slide receiving locations of the plurality of modules anda plurality of slide receiving locations of the cassette with the slideloader in accordance with coordinate references of the slide loader.

Clause 39. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 38,wherein the slide loader is configured to adjust loading the slide intothe selected microscope module based on parameters of the selectedmicroscope module.

Clause 40. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 39,wherein the cassette comprises a plurality of receptacles to receive theplurality of microscope slides and wherein each of the plurality ofreceptacles corresponds to a location to receive and remove the slideand wherein the processor is configured with instructions to associatethe location of said each of the plurality of receptacles with anidentifier of a slide stored in said each of the plurality ofreceptacles in order to place the slide in the receptacle subsequent toimaging the slide with a module among the plurality of modules.

Clause 41. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 40,wherein the cassette comprises a plurality of receptacles divided intogroups based on priority or scan need.

Clause 42. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 41,wherein each of the plurality of microscope modules is configured toimage a slide placed thereon independently of other microscope modulesof the plurality of microscope modules.

Clause 43. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 42,wherein at least one of the plurality of microscope modules comprises anillumination array comprising a plurality of illumination sourcesconfigured to illuminate a sample on a slide under a plurality ofillumination conditions at a plurality of times.

Clause 44. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 43,wherein the plurality of illumination conditions includes at least oneof different durations, different intensities, different positions,different illumination angles, different illumination patterns, ordifferent wavelengths.

Clause 45. The microscope system according to any of clauses 1 to 44,wherein the processor is further configured with instructions to detectmicroscope modules microscope modules coupled to the processor to updatean index of available microscope modules.

As used herein the term “multiple” encompasses a “plurality” and refersto two or more.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended thatthe following claims define the scope of the invention and that methodsand structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents becovered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A microscope system comprising: a plurality ofmicroscope modules; a cassette for holding a plurality of slides; aslide loader configured to move the plurality of slides between thecassette and the plurality of microscope modules; and a processorcoupled to the slide loader, the processor configured with instructionswhich, when executed, cause the slide loader to: move a slide into orfrom a selected microscope module among the plurality of microscopemodules.
 2. The microscope system of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured with instructions to: select a slide among the plurality ofslides for scanning; retrieve the selected slide from the cassette;select a microscope module of the plurality of microscope modules; loadthe slide into the selected microscope module; and after the microscopemodule scans the slide, retrieve the slide from microscope module. 3.The microscope system of claim 1, wherein the slide loader comprises alinkage coupled to the processor to move the plurality of slides to theplurality of modules in response to instructions from the processor, toretrieve the plurality of slides from the plurality of modules, and toplace the plurality of slides on the slide loader in response toinstructions from the processor.
 4. The microscope system of claim 3,wherein the plurality of microscope modules comprises a plurality oflocations to receive the plurality of microscope slides and wherein eachof the plurality of locations corresponds to one of the plurality ofmicroscope modules and comprises a location separate from otherlocations of the plurality of locations and wherein the linkage isconfigured to place one or more of the plurality of slides at said eachof the plurality of locations in response to instructions from theprocessor.
 5. The microscope system of claim 4, wherein the processor isconfigured with a plurality of coordinate references corresponding tothe plurality of locations and wherein the processor is configured withinstructions to place each of the plurality of slides at a locationamong the plurality of locations based on the plurality of coordinatereferences and an identifier of the slide.
 6. The microscope system ofclaim 5, further comprising an end effector coupled to the linkage andthe processor, the end effector configured to engage a slide among theplurality of slides, remove the slide from the cassette, disengage theslide at a location among the plurality of locations, engage the slideat the location among the plurality of locations, remove the slide fromthe location, and place the slide on the cassette.
 7. The microscopesystem of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of end effectors eachcoupled to the linkage and the processor and configured to engage anddisengage the slide.
 8. The microscope system of claim 1, wherein: theplurality of microscope modules comprises a first microscope modulecomprising a first class of microscope and a second microscope modulecomprising a second class of microscope, the first class and secondclass are selected from the group consisting of a high definitionmicroscope, a digital microscope, a computational microscope, a 3Dmicroscope, a phase imaging microscope, a phase contrast microscope, adark field microscope, a differential interference contrast microscope,a lightsheet microscope, a confocal microscope, a holographic microscopeand a fluorescence-based microscope, the processor is configured toselect between the first class and the second class based on the slide,and the instructions cause the slide loader to move the slide to thefirst microscope module or the second microscope module in responseselecting between the first class and the second class.
 9. Themicroscope system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further compriseinstructions for: detecting the slide; identifying the slide; retrievinginformation about the identified slide; and selecting, based on theinformation, the slide.
 10. The microscope system of claim 9, whereindetecting the slide comprises detecting the slide in at least one of thecassette, the slide loader, or one of the plurality of microscopemodules.
 11. The microscope system of claim 9, wherein identifying theslide comprises reading at least one of a unique identifier, a bar code,an optical character recognition code, optical character recognition, aradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, a user input, or a previewimage of the slide.
 12. The microscope system of claim 9, wherein theinformation comprises a priority for the slide and selecting the slidecomprises selecting the slide based on comparing the priority topriorities of other slides in the cassette.
 13. The microscope system ofclaim 9, wherein the information comprises a user-defined selection andselecting the slide comprises selecting the slide based on theuser-defined selection.
 14. The microscope system of claim 9, whereinthe information comprises an order in a queue of slides in the cassetteand selecting the slide comprises selecting the slide based on theorder.
 15. The microscope system of claim 1, further comprising a sensorfor detecting and identifying slides.
 16. The microscope system of claim15, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a camera, a barcodereader, or a laser.
 17. The microscope system of claim 15, wherein thesensor is located on at least one of the cassette, the slide loader, orone of the plurality of microscope modules.
 18. The microscope system ofclaim 15, wherein the sensor is configured to capture a preview image ofthe slide.
 19. The microscope system of claim 1, wherein theinstructions comprise instructions for selecting the selected microscopemodule, comprising: identifying each of the plurality of microscopemodules; determining a scan capability for each of the plurality ofmicroscope modules; determining a scan need for the slide; and selectingthe microscope module based on the scan capability of the selectedmicroscope module satisfying the scan need of the slide.
 20. Themicroscope system of claim 19, wherein identifying each of the pluralityof microscope modules comprises determining coordinates for each of theplurality of microscope modules.